PANAJI
In the high voltage political drama that Goa witnessed on Wednesday after a temporary pause, the role of former Chief Minister Churchill Alemao as a facilitator to the move has gone unnoticed.
Party sources confirmed to The Goan that Alemao assured the BJP he will facilitate two-thirds of the Congress legislators to defect to BJP on a condition that he is offered the ticket for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from South Goa. “The BJP is eager to win the South Goa seat. When Alemao made this offer, the ruling party could not turn it down. He is expected to be the face for Lok Sabha polls in South Goa,” sources said.
The BJP has been repeatedly issuing media statements about winning both seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha. While no official confirmation has come to the fore, party sources said Alemao is the mastermind of the fresh defection move. “The defection attempt had failed until Alemao took the lead,” the source said. Alemao however failed to convince the Congress MLA in his family Yuri Alemao; Altone D’Costa, and Carlos Ferreira.”
Sources further said that Sankalp Amonkar also played an important role to ensure a successful switch over to a new political home. It is also believed that former GPCC President Girish Chodankar, who strongly backed Amonkar as the new Leader of Opposition, also supported his decision.
The Goan had earlier reported that the courtesy visit of Sankalp Amonkar, Altone D'Costa, and Rudolfo Fernandes to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s ancestral house at Cotombi during Ganesh Chaturthi triggered a debate about repeated attempts being made to join the BJP. While two joined along with six others, D’Costa decided to stay back.
One of the Congress MLAs openly admitted to his party men about liabilities and huge financial burden owing to which he decided to join the BJP that will bail him out of the problems.
